Beautiful large Yamadori Oak… possibly not a failure?

[SmallTreeGuy]

Hey all,

So, a month and a half ago, I was given the opportunity from a friend in the construction business to collect some trees from an area that was being closed off and cleared, next to a neighborhood in South Dallas. He knows I like to collect trees and practice bonsai, so he told me that access to trees in this ravine would be cleared “very soon”, as he put it for a construction project.

Anyways, I drove to the site and saw a large ravine lined with limestone rock with trees everywhere amongst the rock lining a small little creek on both sides. I only had access to one side and that access was limited. He was with me pointing out trees that I might be able to collect (he kept pointing to trees that were straight as a board lol)

After about an 30 minutes of looking, I saw a large oak (what I think to be a water oak) coming out of the ground on a limestone shelf. Beautiful thing, but not the right time of year. I’ll probably get reamed for this here but it’s the only tree that tickled my fancy and it really made me excited. (except for the fact that it’s not the right time of year for the most part to be collecting deciduous). Considering the fact that the area was going to be cleared and walled off, I decided to give it a go at collecting so at least the tree would have “some” chance to make it, (if I perform appropriate aftercare.)

I propped myself up on the ledge and tied myself off to a large tree at the top of the hill and he passed me my tools and Sawzall

Anyways to make a long story short, I was able to get it out of the ground and get the tap root cut. I trimmed most of the 2 trunks that it branched into down about a foot from where I really want the tree to top out at, leaving some leaves that were on lower small branches.

Unfortunately the tree didn’t have many roots other than the taproot and some tiny feeder roots near the top of he soil close to the trunk.

I got it out and tried to preserve as much root ball as I could but a lot of the dirt fell away as I was trying to wrap it in wet spagnum moss and a trash bag until I got home. The roots stayed wet all the way back home. The planter box was wired and pumice was ready for when we pulled up to my house.

I immediately potted it in pure pumice and tied it into the box, watering it thoroughly until the water ran clear and then I soaked some spagnum moss in water and applied it to the top to reduce evaporation. I started building a little cage that would hold the black bag away from the tree so it didn’t touch it. Basically, I’m using Harry Harrington’s or Tony Tickle’s sweating method for out of season collections.

It has been a month and a half and the few leaves that I brought back with the tree are still there, alive, bright green and supple. I know that oaks aren’t flushing right now as summer is winding down but I hope it pulls through. I thought at least if it didn’t pull through, the tree was going to be cut down anyways and it would be a learning opportunity for me.

Here are a couple of pics. (Don’t laugh at my black bag setup with the duct tape ). The tree is large and I couldn’t get just one over it so I had to cut pieces and seal the seams. lol the oak is the bent one in the picture and my cut starts where the branch starts to curve out.





Like I said, I got VERY few leaves but only two have dropped since a month and a half ago. What are the odds that this tree makes it through the winter? We have a long way to go I know. I can overwinter it by putting it in my unheated shop which has a huge skylight making it very bright during the day in there. I have been misting the foliage and the inside of the bag throughout the day and am not letting the pumice go dry but not soaking all the time either.

Are the roots I collected keeping these few leaves alive or are they about to die and I just have my hopes up?

Any thoughts? And, go easy everyone! It was either try and maybe succeed or don’t try and fail for sure cause the tree would be cut down. Lol

Cheers and sorry for the long post!

 

[Hbhaska]

Wow, that’s a big tree. Good luck. It will look great in the future.

 

[rockm]

Hey all,

So, a month and a half ago, I was given the opportunity from a friend in the construction business to collect some trees from an area that was being closed off and cleared, next to a neighborhood in South Dallas. He knows I like to collect trees and practice bonsai, so he told me that access to trees in this ravine would be cleared “very soon”, as he put it for a construction project.

Anyways, I drove to the site and saw a large ravine lined with limestone rock with trees everywhere amongst the rock lining a small little creek on both sides. I only had access to one side and that access was limited. He was with me pointing out trees that I might be able to collect (he kept pointing to trees that were straight as a board lol)

After about an 30 minutes of looking, I saw a large oak (what I think to be a water oak) coming out of the ground on a limestone shelf. Beautiful thing, but not the right time of year. I’ll probably get reamed for this here but it’s the only tree that tickled my fancy and it really made me excited. (except for the fact that it’s not the right time of year for the most part to be collecting deciduous). Considering the fact that the area was going to be cleared and walled off, I decided to give it a go at collecting so at least the tree would have “some” chance to make it, (if I perform appropriate aftercare.)

I propped myself up on the ledge and tied myself off to a large tree at the top of the hill and he passed me my tools and Sawzall

Anyways to make a long story short, I was able to get it out of the ground and get the tap root cut. I trimmed most of the 2 trunks that it branched into down about a foot from where I really want the tree to top out at, leaving some leaves that were on lower small branches.

Unfortunately the tree didn’t have many roots other than the taproot and some tiny feeder roots near the top of he soil close to the trunk.

I got it out and tried to preserve as much root ball as I could but a lot of the dirt fell away as I was trying to wrap it in wet spagnum moss and a trash bag until I got home. The roots stayed wet all the way back home. The planter box was wired and pumice was ready for when we pulled up to my house.

I immediately potted it in pure pumice and tied it into the box, watering it thoroughly until the water ran clear and then I soaked some spagnum moss in water and applied it to the top to reduce evaporation. I started building a little cage that would hold the black bag away from the tree so it didn’t touch it. Basically, I’m using Harry Harrington’s or Tony Tickle’s sweating method for out of season collections.

It has been a month and a half and the few leaves that I brought back with the tree are still there, alive, bright green and supple. I know that oaks aren’t flushing right now as summer is winding down but I hope it pulls through. I thought at least if it didn’t pull through, the tree was going to be cut down anyways and it would be a learning opportunity for me.

Here are a couple of pics. (Don’t laugh at my black bag setup with the duct tape ). The tree is large and I couldn’t get just one over it so I had to cut pieces and seal the seams. lol the oak is the bent one in the picture and my cut starts where the branch starts to curve out.

View attachment 508365

View attachment 508366View attachment 508367

Like I said, I got VERY few leaves but only two have dropped since a month and a half ago. What are the odds that this tree makes it through the winter? We have a long way to go I know. I can overwinter it by putting it in my unheated shop which has a huge skylight making it very bright during the day in there. I have been misting the foliage and the inside of the bag throughout the day and am not letting the pumice go dry but not soaking all the time either.

Are the roots I collected keeping these few leaves alive or are they about to die and I just have my hopes up?

Any thoughts? And, go easy everyone! It was either try and maybe succeed or don’t try and fail for sure cause the tree would be cut down. Lol

Cheers and sorry for the long post!

Given your location, the leaf shape and bark, the tree is likely an escarpment live oak (quercus fusiformis), which is a hardier cousin of the southern live oak. Possibly a willow oak (quercus phellos). It could also be a hybrid, as white oaks species (both willow and escarpment are in the white oak family) tend to interbreed pretty easily. Escarpment live oaks (and willow oaks as well) are tough trees, but old ones aren't easy to collect. I have an escarpment live oak as a bonsai, dug up near Austin a long time ago. It is an excellent bonsai species, if you can get it past collection. This one has a great trunk to start with.

I didn't collect mine, but I talked extensively with the collector who did. He (Vito Megna) collected dozens of them. He told me that it was a good sign if the tree dropped all of its leaves in the days and weeks post-collection. It was a bad sign if the tree held onto its leaves post-collection. The ones that dropped leaves tended to recover. The ones that didn't tended to fail. Don't fret about trying to keep the existing leaves--they'll likely drop. Concentrate on keeping the roots alive, that means keeping them moist (not soggy). Pumice is a good choice to induce rooting, I use regular bonsai soil with some organic content, as oaks tend to develop symbiotic mycorrhizae fungus on their roots. Organic ingredients help with that--BUT that's down the road for you. The current mix you're using is probably better at getting the tree to push new roots.

Your after care is pretty good, I'd say, although winter is going to be a problem, as is the lack of roots and awkward timing. Keep it up but don't let the tree stay too wet. Your storage for the winter should be frost free, but on the colder side. Live oaks need light in the winter, as they drop their leaves in the spring.

 

[Tieball]

Given your location, the leaf shape and bark, the tree is likely an escarpment live oak (quercus fusiformis), which is a hardier cousin of the southern live oak. Possibly a willow oak (quercus phellos). It could also be a hybrid, as white oaks species (both willow and escarpment are in the white oak family) tend to interbreed pretty easily.

IF….there’s an abbreviated short answer……how does an oak tree interbreed?
I’m just curious. Do the roots below ground merge together below ground and begin exchanging cells that influence the tree above ground? I’m just guessing that’s all.

 

[rockm]

IF….there’s an abbreviated short answer……how does an oak tree interbreed?
I’m just curious. Do the roots below ground merge together below ground and begin exchanging cells that influence the tree above ground? I’m just guessing that’s all.

There is a short answer--Oaks flower. Pollen flies. Flowers are fertilized. Related species can interbreed. Happens with coyotes, wolves and dogs, for instance.

Longer answer---hybridization has nothing to to with merged roots. It's all about promiscuity and pollen.

Closely related species accept pollen from each other. Texas has an abundance of oak species, so it happens a lot. For instance, from personal experience, the willow oaks here in Va. aren't the same as willow oaks in Texas. While the leaves of willow oak here in Va. are distinctly lance shaped, the leaves of willow oaks in Texas sometimes have points and even lobes. The leaves are often thicker as well-which are a characteristics of live oaks. Willow and live oaks down there grow in close proximity to each other.

 

[bwaynef]

I would've guessed willow oak based on the predominant leaf shape in the picture, but willow oaks I'm familiar with don't ever have any points/lobes. Its decidedly not water oak. I've no experience with escarpment live oak so defer to those with more experience with Texas native oaks.

Good luck with this project. The trunk on it seems to justify the effort.

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Given your location, the leaf shape and bark, the tree is likely an escarpment live oak (quercus fusiformis), which is a hardier cousin of the southern live oak. Possibly a willow oak (quercus phellos). It could also be a hybrid, as white oaks species (both willow and escarpment are in the white oak family) tend to interbreed pretty easily. Escarpment live oaks (and willow oaks as well) are tough trees, but old ones aren't easy to collect. I have an escarpment live oak as a bonsai, dug up near Austin a long time ago. It is an excellent bonsai species, if you can get it past collection. This one has a great trunk to start with.

I didn't collect mine, but I talked extensively with the collector who did. He (Vito Megna) collected dozens of them. He told me that it was a good sign if the tree dropped all of its leaves in the days and weeks post-collection. It was a bad sign if the tree held onto its leaves post-collection. The ones that dropped leaves tended to recover. The ones that didn't tended to fail. Don't fret about trying to keep the existing leaves--they'll likely drop. Concentrate on keeping the roots alive, that means keeping them moist (not soggy). Pumice is a good choice to induce rooting, I use regular bonsai soil with some organic content, as oaks tend to develop symbiotic mycorrhizae fungus on their roots. Organic ingredients help with that--BUT that's down the road for you. The current mix you're using is probably better at getting the tree to push new roots.

Your after care is pretty good, I'd say, although winter is going to be a problem, as is the lack of roots and awkward timing. Keep it up but don't let the tree stay too wet. Your storage for the winter should be frost free, but on the colder side. Live oaks need light in the winter, as they drop their leaves in the spring.

That would be great news if it was either one of the two you mentioned and I hope it is because water oak isn’t really popular for bonsai for a few reasons such as rotting from the center and falling over eventually. Interesting…I do wonder, do escarpment live oaks have darker green leaves like regular live oaks or are they more like regular oak leaf color?

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

There is a short answer--Oaks flower. Pollen flies. Flowers are fertilized. Related species can interbreed. Happens with coyotes, wolves and dogs, for instance.

Longer answer---hybridization has nothing to to with merged roots. It's all about promiscuity and pollen.

Closely related species accept pollen from each other. Texas has an abundance of oak species, so it happens a lot. For instance, from personal experience, the willow oaks here in Va. aren't the same as willow oaks in Texas. While the leaves of willow oak here in Va. are distinctly lance shaped, the leaves of willow oaks in Texas sometimes have points and even lobes. The leaves are often thicker as well-which are a characteristics of live oaks. Willow and live oaks down there grow in close proximity to each other.

Yeah these have lobed shaped leaves. Interesting to hear that the willow oak’s leaves can be different than the ones in VA. I had completely ruled out willow oak because of the lobed leaves. I’d rather have a willow or escarpment LO than a water oak! Lol

 

[Hartinez]

But what is this tree???

 

[shohin_branches]

Sometimes you have to sieze an opportunity, even if it's not a perfect one. When I first started bonsai my uncle who got me into it moved to Florida and let me take any of the bonsai trees in his grow beds. It was winter in Wisconsin and I was 14. I learned how to use a pickaxe.

How long did it take to dig this one out?

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Yeah these have lobed shaped leaves. Interesting to hear that the willow oak’s leaves can be different than the ones in VA. I had completely ruled out willow oak because of the lobed leaves. I’d rather have a willow or escarpment LO than a water oak! Lol

But what is this tree??? View attachment 508437

That’s the one I dug up! Lol you can’t see the beautiful trunk in the bagged pics but that’s it!

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Sometimes you have to sieze an opportunity, even if it's not a perfect one. When I first started bonsai my uncle who got me into it moved to Florida and let me take any of the bonsai trees in his grow beds. It was winter in Wisconsin and I was 14. I learned how to use a pickaxe.

How long did it take to dig this one out?

It took me about 6 hours. It was growing on a shelf of limestone, so before I started digging, I needed a good place to be near the tree to work on it so I had to clear about 2 feet of dirt on the shelf so I could sit by the tree and work. And, to be at a lower height to get the Sawzall near horizontal to cut the tap root when the time came. There wasn’t much room to use the Sawzall to cut the tap from multiple directions so I had to cut it from the direction where I was on the rock shelf. To the immediate right of me it dropped off but I tied myself of to a tree with some straps in my truck. The soil was rather loose . The hardest thing was trenching around it because access was limited in most directions to use the Sawzall.

It was also 105 degrees out that day and I threw up a couple of times after getting it out and to the truck. If it pulls through, I may name this tree “heat stroke”.

Sometimes I push myself too hard

 

[rockm]

That would be great news if it was either one of the two you mentioned and I hope it is because water oak isn’t really popular for bonsai for a few reasons such as rotting from the center and falling over eventually. Interesting…I do wonder, do escarpment live oaks have darker green leaves like regular live oaks or are they more like regular oak leaf color?

Escarpment live oaks are literally all over the Dallas area in landscapes and in fields. They're called "live oaks" there. I have a lot of relatives in East and North Texas and visit often. If you see a "Live oak" in a parking lot island, or in an abandon field, it's an escarpment oak, NOT a Southern live oak. Fusiformis ranges all the way up into southern Oklahoma and down past Austin. Dallas is its "prime time" location, square in the middle of the range. The soils and droughty conditions in that region are pretty inhospitable for Southern live oak, which prefers high water tables and lots of moisture, i.e. Gulf Coast.

The escarpment live oak used to be considered a subspecies of the Southern live oak (quercus virginiana), but that's changed. Fusiformis is considered its own species from what I understand. It's more cold and drought tolerant than virginiana and makes for better less fussy bonsai. Leaf shape and thickness can vary tremendously, depending on location, sun exposure and water. Sometimes mature leaves are quite large and relatively thinner (like three to four inches long). Other times, mature leaves can be small and thick. Or they can come in a number of different forms and sizes on the same tree--see photo of mine below. Lots of small leaves, but larger leaves on the exterior--I cut those off. Some leaves have lobes, while others don't, on the same trees too. Live oak leaves mostly have a leathery texture when mature and can be quite dark green, but so do Texas quercus phellos leaves...Leaves on Fusiformis can be reduced to less than half an inch to a even a quarter of an inch if it's pinched back hard and regularly in the spring. See the pic below. From the leaves on yours that I can see (and your location), I'd bet more on fusiformis than phellos.

 

[rockm]

It took me about 6 hours. It was growing on a shelf of limestone, so before I started digging, I needed a good place to be near the tree to work on it so I had to clear about 2 feet of dirt on the shelf so I could sit by the tree and work. And, to be at a lower height to get the Sawzall near horizontal to cut the tap root when the time came. There wasn’t much room to use the Sawzall to cut the tap from multiple directions so I had to cut it from the direction where I was on the rock shelf. To the immediate right of me it dropped off but I tied myself of to a tree with some straps in my truck. The soil was rather loose . The hardest thing was trenching around it because access was limited in most directions to use the Sawzall.

It was also 105 degrees out that day and I threw up a couple of times after getting it out and to the truck. If it pulls through, I may name this tree “heat stroke”.

Sometimes I push myself too hard

Dude, you're lucky you didn't die. I'm only half joking. If you did, that would not only be a visually "killer" trunk, but a literal one as well. Which brings up another thing. Bagging a tree in that extreme heat may do more harm than good. Inside the bag will be well over the air temp which might kill new growth or prevent it.

One more thing, wood on these is EXTREMELY durable. I have a number of areas of exposed deadwood (like at the original cut site and apex) that have been left untreated for 35 years. No signs of rot at all. Also, might be instructive to count the rings(if possible) of the severed tap root. That trunk looks quite old to me. I'd bet over 100 or older. I counted the rings on the tap cut site on mine when I got it. I got to about 300ish before it got really difficult to count because of the rings were so close together.

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Dude, you're lucky you didn't die. I'm only half joking. If you did, that would not only be a visually "killer" trunk, but a literal one as well. Which brings up another thing. Bagging a tree in that extreme heat may do more harm than good. Inside the bag will be well over the air temp which might kill new growth or prevent it.

One more thing, wood on these is EXTREMELY durable. I have a number of areas of exposed deadwood (like at the original cut site and apex) that have been left untreated for 35 years. No signs of rot at all. Also, might be instructive to count the rings(if possible) of the severed tap root. That trunk looks quite old to me. I'd bet over 100 or older. I counted the rings on the tap cut site on mine when I got it. I got to about 300ish before it got really difficult to count because of the rings were so close together.

Yeah.

Escarpment live oaks are literally all over the Dallas area in landscapes and in fields. They're called "live oaks" there. I have a lot of relatives in East and seem ghem in random spotsNorth Texas and visit often. If you see a "Live oak" in a parking lot island, or in an abandon field, it's an escarpment oak, NOT a Southern live oak. Fusiformis ranges all the way up into southern Oklahoma and down past Austin. Dallas is its "prime time" location, square in the middle of the range. The soils and droughty conditions in that region are pretty inhospitable for Southern live oak, which prefers high water tables and lots of moisture, i.e. Gulf Coast.

The escarpment live oak used to be considered a subspecies of the Southern live oak (quercus virginiana), but that's changed. Fusiformis is considered its own species from what I understand. It's more cold and drought tolerant than virginiana and makes for better less fussy bonsai. Leaf shape and thickness can vary tremendously, depending on location, sun exposure and water. Sometimes mature leaves are quite large and relatively thinner (like three to four inches long). Other times, mature leaves can be small and thick. Or they can come in a number of different forms and sizes on the same tree--see photo of mine below. Lots of small leaves, but larger leaves on the exterior--I cut those off. Some leaves have lobes, while others don't, on the same trees too. Live oak leaves mostly have a leathery texture when mature and can be quite dark green, but so do Texas quercus phellos leaves...Leaves on Fusiformis can be reduced to less than half an inch to a even a quarter of an inch if it's pinched back hard and regularly in the spring. See the pic below. From the leaves on yours that I can see (and your location), I'd bet more on quercusphellos.

Ahhh I gotcha and thanks for the knowledge. I'm gonna have to reread your posts tonight when I'm less busy since you've given me a lot of good info. There are dark small-leaved Southern Live Oaks (thats usually what I call a live oak) You see them here in Dallas Highland Park SMU area that are planted throughout as nice street lining trees (usually very mature trees) and I hardly ever see them in random places as much. I have a Southern Live oak in my front yard. Small dark leaves and stays green all year. Interesting to hear about the quercus fusiformis and quercus phellos. I'll do some more reading later


Oaks are now becoming more complex in my eyes and imma take a little time tonight and reread this thread. Gotta go work and I'll be back later tonight!

Cheers

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Dude, you're lucky you didn't die. I'm only half joking. If you did, that would not only be a visually "killer" trunk, but a literal one as well. Which brings up another thing. Bagging a tree in that extreme heat may do more harm than good. Inside the bag will be well over the air temp which might kill new growth or prevent it.

One more thing, wood on these is EXTREMELY durable. I have a number of areas of exposed deadwood (like at the original cut site and apex) that have been left untreated for 35 years. No signs of rot at all. Also, might be instructive to count the rings(if possible) of the severed tap root. That trunk looks quite old to me. I'd bet over 100 or older. I counted the rings on the tap cut site on mine when I got it. I got to about 300ish before it got really difficult to count because of the rings were so close together.

I hope that me bringing some wet spagnum helped. I didn't want the roots to touch the plastic bag for fear of them getting cooked against the plastic lol

Ill ask my friend what the status of the project is at so if the tree stump is still there maybe I can count the rings. I would love to know it's age.

 

[rockm]

Yeah.

Ahhh I gotcha and thanks for the knowledge. I'm gonna have to reread your posts tonight when I'm less busy since you've given me a lot of good info. There are dark small-leaved Southern Live Oaks (thats usually what I call a live oak) You see them here in Dallas Highland Park SMU area that are planted throughout as nice street lining trees (usually very mature trees) and I hardly ever see them in random places as much. I have a Southern Live oak in my front yard. Small dark leaves and stays green all year. Interesting to hear about the quercus fusiformis and quercus phellos. I'll do some more reading later


Oaks are now becoming more complex in my eyes and imma take a little time tonight and reread this thread. Gotta go work and I'll be back later tonight!

Cheers

Willing to be most of all those oaks are not Southern Live Oaks, but fusiformis. Know Highland Park and SMU area. Forms are all wrong and acorns as well. If you're talking about oaks like the banner of the pages linked below, those are all definitely fusiformis. It's too dry in Dallas for true Southern Live oak for the most part. The parking islands and streets are definitely too dry and tough for Southern Live oak to flourish. Not so for Fusiformis.

How to spend a day in Highland Park Village | Visit Dallas

Highland Park Village opened in 1931 as the first shopping center of its kind in the U.S. It's even a designated National historical landmark - which is a nice piece of Dallas history to impress your friends with. Known for its upscale shops like Jimmy Ch

www.visitdallas.com

Best Dallas-area neighborhoods for spectacular holiday light displays

Light It Up

dallas.culturemap.com

https://www.bistro31dallas.com/

 

[rockm]

Willing to be most of all those oaks are not Southern Live Oaks, but fusiformis. Know Highland Park and SMU area. Forms are all wrong and acorns as well. If you're talking about oaks like the banner of the pages linked below, those are all definitely fusiformis. It's too dry in Dallas for true Southern Live oak for the most part. The parking islands and streets are definitely too dry and tough for Southern Live oak to flourish. Not so for Fusiformis.

How to spend a day in Highland Park Village | Visit Dallas

Highland Park Village opened in 1931 as the first shopping center of its kind in the U.S. It's even a designated National historical landmark - which is a nice piece of Dallas history to impress your friends with. Known for its upscale shops like Jimmy Ch

www.visitdallas.com

Best Dallas-area neighborhoods for spectacular holiday light displays

Light It Up

dallas.culturemap.com

https://www.bistro31dallas.com/

One thing, after viewing that vid, it's apparent that my live oak is a hybrid, according to the acorns it has produced. Intermediate, but more elongated than round, but not as elongated and skinny as the acorns in the video. It was also collected on a ranch in Salado about 50 miles north of Austin, so it was on the northern edge of the Hybrid swarm around Austin.

 

[Millard B.]

Here are my 2 cents worth of experience in collecting both urban and wild yamadori. I have greater survival rate by collecting trees while they are dormant, sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot, cant wait until next season. For optimum survival rate I prefer to root prune two sides, then backfill with a little nursery soil mixed into the native soil, then wait 2 or 3 months, rootprune the other 2 sides then wait a couple months more, then cut about half of the straight branches off leaving branch bases of several inches. Get as much roots as possible with fine hair roots- wet the rootball before lifting it out and place it wired into a nursery pot to keep it from loosing soil on the rootball. When the tree gets home I give it a good soaking, give it a gallon or two of water mixed with SuperThrive diluted, then remove almost 100% of it's leaves. Remember when you cut back the roots hard and it's leaves are intact the trees photosynthesis process pulls moisture up from it's roots- when the roots no longer can pull up moisture to the leaves that transpire moisture the tree with pull water stored in the trunk and branches the moisture level will severely diminish and it's leaves will start to wither as a defense mechanism. If you remove most all it;s leaves the moisture in the roots, trunk, and branches will remain and more often than not dormant leaf buds will start to swell and sprout. I liken it to the tree being in a hurricane, loosing most of it's leaves it normally will start growing again shortly after the "storm". Put the tree in partial shade for a couple months then gradually move it to full sun. My good friend was selling his 10 acre bonsai nursery and had to vacate the property in a hurry, he gave me a hedge of 25 year old Xylosma bahamensis, a very rare Florida native, didn't have enough time to properly root prune them, lifted all 12 of them with a 36" rootball, pressure cleaned all their leaves 100%, ran a hose on each for 2 days to moisten the rootball before lifting them, then moved them 35 miles one at a time to my yard, staked them and watered them daily. I had 100% success in moving and killing every one as when washing off the soil not one tree had a single hair feeder root, all the hairroots were 20 feet + away from the trunk! A lesson learned hard is a lesson remembered!
I never use plastic to wrap the tree, only wrap the roots with wet newspaper then an old tarp that can breathe. A clean pump sprayer is a good thing to take when collecting using well water.

 

[SmallTreeGuy]

Hello good folks!


I just thought I’d do a quick update on this collected oak and say, the Oak is still alive. Cambium is still green! The last few leaves fell off a few weeks ago. The weather finally cooled off here in North Texas and it’s such a glorious feeling to be outside. I had to take a trip to Denver for a few days to get out of the heat but when I came back cooler temps found us here in Dallas!

I’m wondering what would be some good options for overwintering this weak fella to make sure he lasts through to spring. (I didn’t get a good root ball at collection but I’ve been making sure my aftercare is on point all the time.) The oak is in pure pumice.

I have two outdoor closets in the carport that are attached to the house that are unheated but receive 0 sunlight.

I also have a detached studio space that I can choose to leave unheated, that receives plenty of sunlight from windows and a large skylight.

Since the oak is in a dormant state already, what would be the best course of action for keeping it alive until spring arrives.

I hear we are gonna get an “El Niño winter” here in Dallas so it may be harsher than usual winters in this area.

What are my options for overwintering this collection? Scared that a freeze may just kill the few roots it does have that have sustained it until this far. And I didn’t come this far just to come this far any help would be amazing as overwintering has been confusing to me since I started bonsai a couple years ago.

Thank you all!